New Land Deal May Link Atlanta Park to Downtown

A recently closed land deal may someday give Atlanta residents a direct link between the city’s largest park and the downtown area. Proponents expect the $5 million deal to bring the Atlanta Beltline directly to Georgia World Congress Center, Downtown Atlanta and the communities of English Avenue and Vine City.

Beltline officials recently purchased a three-quarters of a mile rail corridor to help make it happen. They call it a “critical link”, extending from Joseph E Boone Boulevard to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway. That stretch meets up with the Kudzu Line, which was purchased last August.

If all goes as planned, area residents could someday bike from Centennial Olympic Park to the new Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry, connecting up with some Westside neighborhoods along the way. Officials still need a few more parcels of land to make the full corridor happen.

The funds for the recent land purchases come from TSPLOST dollars. That measure was passed by voters a couple of years ago.